Why Is Everyone In The News Corp. Hacking Scandal Named 'Nigel' or 'Neville'?

Sun associate editor Trevor Kavanaugh's warning that the police investigation into hacking at News Corp. is becoming too heavy-handed illustrates one of the more bizarre aspects of the scandal: The total, utter, anachronistic Britishness of everyone involved. Look at the first names of the protagonists. You couldn't ask for a more stereotypical list of limeys:

Trevor

Neville

Colin

Jules

Hugh

Piers

Sir Paul

These are the names of the cast of a period costume drama on PBS. No one in real life is called "Neville." (Or "Piers," for that matter). Yet the only two people living in the 21st Century with those names have both been brought together in the same scandal. What are the odds? That's just the men. The female protagonists include Milly, Heather and Daisy. Even the Australians have pommie names—Rupert, Elizabeth and James—rather than Aussie names (Bruce or Sheila). It doesn't stop there. The News Corp. law firm at the center of the scandal appears to have been hired from a directory of Dickensian characters: Harbottle & Lewis. Seriously. Have you ever met anyone named "Harbottle"? I was born and raised in Britain and have never met anyone called "Nigel" or "Neville" or "Hugh." Britain is a multicultural society filled with Johns, Michaels and Mustafas.

Only former News International chief Rebekah Brooks—with her trendy misspelled name—appears to have any modern provenance. All that's lacking is a Nigel. Did I say lacking? Oops. Yes, of course there is a Nigel involved.